A common hydrodynamic feature in heavily loaded circulating fluidized beds is the presence of clusters. The continuous formation and destruction of clusters strongly influences particle hold-up, pressure drop, heat transfer at the wall, and mixing. In this paper fiber optic data is analyzed using discrete wavelet analysis to characterize the dynamic behavior of clusters. Five radial positions at three different axial locations under five different operating conditions spanning three different flow regimes were analyzed using discrete wavelets. Results are summarized with respect to cluster size and frequency. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.